Season 7, hour 1
by JackAddict
Summary: Just something to keep you entertained while you wait for 24: Redemption. One-off. First hour of s7. OBVIOUSLY, SPOILERS FOLLOW! So if you haven't seen any season 7 previews and don't want to know stuff in advance, do NOT enter!


So, I've been sitting on this since January 2008, I think. It's nto necessarily a *fic* as such, cause its starting point is / are? the early s7 prequel(s) FOX gave us back then. I think it's a plausible first hour of 24's season 7. It's just something for the hungry fan while s/he waits for season 7. As such, it most likely also won't be continued. Has anyone seen the newest prequel that came out the other day?... I won't say a word here but I'll be happy to PM about it. if you haven't, it's up on www . 24fans . com (remove spaces).

Speaking of season 7, there is a new 24 role-play game website, and if you feel like it, join the forum. Tony and Jack are taken, but there are a whole lot of other possibilities. http : // 24therpg . proboards . com / index . cgi (again, remove spaces).

For the protocol, if you-know-who is being brought back just to die, note that FOX will be the worst, stupidest, craziest, and most idiotic, money hungry B's ever!

Enjoy hour 1 ;-)

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**9:00:02 a.m. DC time**

**Washington, D.C. Hearing**

_This is unbelievable. After all the years and all the sacrifices I've made. Secretary Heller of all people wants me in jail. _Jack's thoughts were louder than the question he had been ignoring for a full minute now and considering not answering at all. The hearing had begun 30 minutes earlier. The huge room was just as intimidating as it was elegant - with its four black chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, elegant wood pillars contrasting the white arches in front of the windows, peach-colored drapes in each window and red marble floor. One long desk, accommodating the members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence filled one end of the room from one wall to the other. On either side of the Chairman, Senator Johnson, stood a flag; the US flag and the blue Senate flag.

Senator Johnson took a sip of water from the glass on his right and waited. Judging solely by appearance and behavior, Johnson hit Jack as an arrogant, sleazy man who had never had to fight for anything in his life but power - and more than succeeded in these fights. The Senator stared at Jack for a while still, and finally repeated the question for the third time.

"What were your orders, Mr. Bauer?"

"To bring him in," Jack finally answered.

"Did you or did you not ignore the orders to bring the suspect in for questioning?"

"Yes."

"Was this the first time you've refused to obey orders from your superiors?"

Jack almost laughed. "No." _It sure as hell wasn't._

The Senator leaned in towards Jack. "Mr. Bauer. Did you torture Mr. Hadad?"

_Of course I tortured that son of a bitch, I had to! Or would you rather have buried 55 American citizens instead of one wanna-be suicide bomber who would have killed himself anyway? _Jack answered to himself, but then also decided to answer the Senator. "Ibrahim Hadad targeted a bus carrying 45 people, ten of which were children. I stopped that attack from happening!"

"We have laws in this country, Mr. Bauer. Laws that prohibit torture. Ibrahim Hadad was just one of many on your list of victims. You are not above the law, Mr. Bauer, and this hearing will make sure you understand that. You will answer for your actions before this committee, and there will be consequences."

"Senator, with all due respect, do what you have to do. But don't expect me to regret the decisions I've made." Johnson grinned as if he'd expected this, but Jack ended his statement in a final tone: "Because, Sir, the truth is: I don't."

Jack's words hung in the air for some ten seconds before Senator Johnson broke the silence. "Fair enough, Mr. Bauer, you are dismissed for now. You may step down."

**New York, J.F.K. Airport. **

**A plane on the ground**

Most seats were still empty but the passengers were starting to come in. The flight attendants had already been working for a few hours but their smiles, practiced to perfection, easily disguised that fact. Cold wind blew through the open rear door and although the crew was just as cold as the passengers who were boarding the aircraft, while their customers hushed inside into the warmth, the two blue-uniformed 35-plus blondes stayed put. "Think of Hawaii," Brenda, the older of them whispered to her colleague during a two-second break in the passenger influx. "It's 90 in the shade and there's just you and John."

Lea laughed but got no chance to instantly reply, as the next mother with child had climbed up the stairs and was holding out her boarding pass for Lea to see.

"33A and B, to the right."

"Thank you." The woman led her daughter inside and Lea turned to Brenda again.

"I can't wait. This is my final flight before our wedding day." She checked another boarding pass. "40D, right over here, Sir." When the man walked on, she continued towards Brenda, "And then - one month Hawaii, all islands." she said as if she was not only reminding her colleague but also herself.

"Lucky girl."

"Definitely."

"You know where Hugh and I got married? _Tulsa. _Honeymoon in Oklahoma, baby, nothing beats the odds like Oklahoma." Brenda said in the voice of a radio announcer and fought hard not to giggle while she directed to their seats a grandma who held a walking stick in one hand and her grandson's hand in the other. The boy, six years old, somehow let go of his grandmother, tripped and fell flat on his stomach.

Lea immediately got to him, even before he began to cry. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay," she whispered to him, cradling him and caressing the top of his head.

The grandmother watched her and smiled. "It's alright, Jessie, stop crying now, it can't be that bad. Be a big boy."

**09:10:05**

**Washington, D.C. **

From his chair in front of the crowd of reporters and visitors, Jack had stoically stared at Chairman Johnson as the latter scanned the list of witnesses the committee had chosen to question. The Senator whispered something to the dark-skinned man next to him, then said into the microphone. "This committee now calls Ms. Audrey Raines."

At hearing this name, Jack's cold mask vanished as if a wave had swiped it off his face. His heart sank. He turned his head and body backwards, toward the opposite end of the room where two tall doors opened to let Audrey in. She wore a beige blouse and brown, ankle-long trousers, no make-up and her blond hair uncharacteristically bound in a pony tail. She held on to her father's arm, while both of them entered the hall and began making their way to the front. Another man followed a couple of steps behind them, though Jack's attention wasn't on him for the time being. Audrey's eyes were on the floor from the moment she entered the room until she sat down in the witness chair. Heller then tapped her hand, as if to give her strength, and then retreated to the audience, as did the other man.

"Will you please state your name for the record?" Senator Johnson then asked her.

"Audrey... Raines." she replied quietly, not raising her eyes.

"Ms Raines. I understand you've been under a great deal of stress in the past two years," he began, checking his notes, "We greatly appreciate your appearing before this committee today. I want you to know that if you feel unable to continue at any time, you are allowed to excuse yourself from this hearing."

"Thank you, Senator."

"Ms Raines, why don't you begin by explaining to us what relationship you and Mr. Jack Bauer have?"

"I have hardly seen him in almost five years, Senator."

"But you used to work together, right?"

"Yes. At the Department of Defense. Ja-" she paused, closing her eyes for a moment. "He worked for Secretary Heller like I did. And we were together for a few months, before-"

"Before your husband, Paul Raines, passed away?"

Audrey's eyes welled up and she brought a hand to her face. "Yes..."

"Ms Raines, would you like a break?"

Audrey just shook her head.

Senator Johnson waited a few seconds, and when Audrey took a deep breath, he asked, "Can you tell us how it happened?"

Audrey put her hands together in her lap and interlocked her fingers. "He... thought that Paul was involved with terrorists. He... tortured Paul. Later... when Paul... He let him die. He let him die."

"And by 'he', you mean Jack Bauer?"

Audrey nodded.

Now Jack was also staring at the floor. _There are a few things I do regret. This was the right call at the time. But I wish I could have done it differently._

"Let me summarize what our reports say on this situation. Correct me if I'm wrong. After an illegal abduction of a key witness who had been injured in the process, Jack Bauer ordered the medical staff at CTU to stop performing surgery on Paul Raines in order to save the witness's life, is that right?"

"Yes," Audrey whispered, more to herself than into the microphone.

"And yet, after Bauer himself was abducted and deported to China, you, risking your own safety, went in to try and get him back. Why?"

The silence that followed made Jack's skin crawl and the scars the Chinese interrogations had left on his own body began to itch and burn again. He placed his left hand over the scarred back of his right hand, again feeling the hot oil that Chang's men had poured over it and shuddered. He hadn't given up, but there were times during his imprisonment in China when he wished they would just kill him. There were times he considered killing himself. But the Chinese were too skilled in what they were doing and too watchful to allow either of those things to happen.

He never did find out just what they had done to Audrey; yet he had been asking himself why they never brought her to his cell and threatened to harm her or kill her to get him to talk. He wouldn't put it past them to try; the only reason he could think of is that admitting to kidnapping the daughter of the acting Secretary of Defense might have been too hot a story, even for the Chinese. The last time he'd seen Audrey after she'd been brought back to the USA, she was broken. The Audrey sitting in that chair right now was a woman that still had a long way to go before she could get over what she had been through. Jack glanced briefly at the man sitting next to Heller in the audience. He realized the man was probably Audrey's psychiatrist and he was glad she had someone to talk to.

When Jack looked back at her, Audrey's eyes rose from the floor just enough to catch a glimpse of his face before she whispered, "Because I loved him..."

Senator Johnson was just about to open his mouth when Audrey interrupted him. "I can't do this, I can't, I can't," she mumbled as tears began to flow down her cheeks and she hid her face in her hands.

"It's okay, Ms. Raines, you may step down. Dr. Lloyd," he addressed the man next to Heller, "Would you please escort Ms Raines outside. Thank you both."

Dr. Lloyd stepped up to Audrey and took her arm, then began to lead her down the aisle between the rows of chairs. Audrey kept crying and never looked up from the floor. Heller got up and joined them, but before he did, he threw a glance at Jack that said, _'You did this to her. This is your fault.'_

Heller had never allowed Jack to contact Audrey, and quite clearly, after today, that wouldn't change. Rather than holding Heller's stare, Jack followed Audrey with his eyes until he couldn't see her anymore. And then the door closed.

**A plane somewhere above the US**

A flight attendant whose name tag identified her as Doris Blanca pushed the trolley ahead, collecting paper napkins and beakers from the passengers, always wearing a smile on her face. The dark-haired man in 24A handed her his trash and she thanked him politely, but before she moved on, he asked, "Excuse me, Miss. How long until we land?"

"About an hour, Sir," she replied.

"Thank you."

"Are you catching a connecting flight in New York?"

"No, I just need to make some arrangements. Thank you again."

"You're welcome," Doris smiled once more and went on about her business.

**09:24:58**

**Washington, D.C. **

"We will now adjourn until tomorrow, 11 a.m," Senator Johnson stated. "We will then hear statements from former CTU Directors Erin Driscoll and William Buchanan. Thank you," The committee members stood, beginning to exit the room, while the spectators waited for the committee to leave before making their way out.

A man and woman in dark suits stood in the back, and their eyes were fixed on Jack. "You really think this is a good idea?" the man asked.

"We have a lot to gain and nothing to lose, Hugh. Relax."

"I know. But you know his reputation. You say one wrong thing and he can go off."

"I can handle Bauer," she said, and, since the last committee member had just left, began to approach Jack.

Hugh stayed back and mumbled, "Good luck."

Jack lifted his head for a second to take a look at the woman approaching him. The most noticeable thing about her was her red mane and she wore it like a lioness. In her dark suit and off-white blouse, she looked way too much like a government agent and Jack had to admit to himself that he was slowly getting tired of those. It was his past life, not his present nor future. As soon as their eyes locked, she asked, "Mr. Bauer. May I talk to you for a minute?"

"I'm sorry, I really don't have the time right now," Jack lied.

She didn't attempt to smile, but instead installed herself directly in front of him and stated, "Trust me, you'll want to hear this."

Jack's eyes narrowed and he glanced past her for a second, noticing a man staring at them from afar, a man who was probably her partner. Whatever this was, it was probably not a joke. "Who are you?"

"Special Agent Dana Tobaldi, FBI," she replied, pulling her badge that hung around her neck out of her blouse to show to Jack, and then tucking it back inside.

"Fine. You want to talk, let's talk," he offered.

"Not here," she said. "Would you care to follow me?"

Jack didn't exactly feel like it, but now his curiosity was awakened, so he collected his things and lead the way out of the room. The other agent joined them as they left the room, just like Jack thought, but neither of the three bothered to play Introductions. In the hallway, agent Tobaldi took the lead but said no word.

"Where are we going?" Jack finally asked.

"The FBI HQ. Right around the corner. There's something that you need to see for yourself."

**New York, J.F.K. Airport**

"Boarding completed," Brenda let the captain know through the intercom while Lea closed and bolted the rear aircraft door.

"Finally," Lea sighed, rubbing her upper arms to warm them up a little. "Leave that wind and fog and rain outside."

"Yeah, it's time for some West Coast sunshine. You know, I could use a vacation, too."

"Yeah, I bet."

**09:33:26**

**FBI Headquarters**

Jack and Dana entered a building and she wordlessly led him into an empty office, then closed the door behind them. "Have a seat, Mr. Bauer."

"I'll stand. What's this about?"

Dana hit two buttons on a laptop, waking it from stand-by. Then she replied, "We have a national security problem that has gone critical."

Jack almost scoffed. _Is that why she brought me here? _"Agent Tobaldi, right?" He didn't wait for her to confirm. "I don't work for the government any more."

Dana Tobaldi logged onto the computer and waited. "I know, Mr. Bauer. But if you'll please, just give me a moment."

Jack checked his watch. "Fine, I'll give you three minutes."

While the program she needed started up, she asked Jack, "Have you ever heard of the CIP firewall?"

"Yes, but I couldn't explain what it is, to be honest. It's been a while."

Dana tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. "The CIP firewall protects every major infrastructure system. If it were breached, telecommunications, transportation, power grids - they would all be vulnerable."

"And it is being threatened right now?"

"Yes. We have reliable intel that someone is going to try and break it down, today. However, we have no clues as to the motives behind this or what exactly they are after."

Jack nodded. "I see that this is potentially a serious problem. But I still don't understand how I can be of any help. Like I said, I'm not in government business anymore. I own a weapons store now, as I'm sure you know."

Special Agent Tobaldi smiled, "Yes, we do know." But then, as she hit ENTER on the laptop, her smile faded. "But as it turns out, you _can_ help us. One of the men behind this threat is someone you know," she said, turning the laptop towards Jack so he could see the screen.

Jack's eyes widened. His face went pale and he had to sit down. "That's not possible. Tony Almeida is dead."

"Do you really believe that?"

"What?"

"Mr. Bauer, these pictures are two days old."

Jack glanced at agent Tobaldi, then back at Tony's face on the screen. "Where were these taken?"

"Oswego. A surveillance camera picked him up purely by chance. There was no reason to look for him then, so no-one paid attention. Five hours ago, we got intel suggesting his involvement in this current threat, but so far, we haven't been able to find him," she said and crossed her arms.

Jack now looked at her. "And you think that I can."

"We don't know. But he has stayed completely under the radar for this long, so we would welcome any help you might be able to give us."

"I... I can't help you." Jack looked at her, then at Tony's photo again. "I didn't even know he was alive."

Agent Tobaldi took one step towards Jack. "Are you sure, Mr. Bauer?"

Jack leaned towards her in the chair. "What are you implying?"

"All I'm asking is if you're sure of your words. It's possible you might have forgotten something, and if you'd like to correct that statement-"

"Listen to me, Special Agent Tobaldi," Jack said and stood from the chair, walking up to the woman. "I haven't seen Tony Almeida since he died in my arms four years ago."

She stayed where she was, not backing up. "That's probably true. But, Mr. Bauer, just a year or two before his apparent death, Tony Almeida helped you fake your own death. So, it's not that far-fetched to assume that you did the same for him a little while later." The look on Jack's face showed a surprise for just a second before he hid it. "You thought we didn't know? I'm surprised. You worked in this business long enough to know how things work." She paused a couple of seconds, then went on, "After you resurfaced a while back, some people asked questions, and other people gave answers. And now these same questions are being asked again."

Jack remained silent. _He had lost everything. I owed him that much._

"Jack, if you know how to contact him, or if you can tell us anything that will help us find him, we'd be very grateful."

Jack moved his hand and gave her a slow down sign. "How do you know he's behind this threat you're talking about?"

"First, I need to know if you'll help us," she insisted.

_It doesn't work that way_, Jack thought. "I want in on the investigation. I want clearance for field work and I want to make the takedown myself."

"So you do know how to contact him?"

"No, but I will find him."

The red-head grinned. "You can't give us any answers but want us to give you a field team?"

"It's the only way this is going to work."

The Academy had taught Dana Tobaldi that sometimes cooperation was better than coercion and she chose to follow that advice now. Holding Jack's stare, she agreed, "Fine, I'll make it happen."

Jack then sat down and gestured towards her to do the same. Then he offered, "Good, then tell me what you know."

**09:49:26**

**Somewhere **

Tony Almeida was standing behind a man who was sitting in front of several computer monitors and tapping on two keyboards at the same time. Both men had a comm unit tucked behind their ears. Two other men sat to Tony's left and worked on their assignments. Tony calmly watched the progress for a while, then asked, "How long until we're in?"

"Five minutes, maybe ten."

"Which is it? Five or ten?"

"More like five, I guess," the man in front of Tony answered, not discontinuing his work.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Rick, you really need to learn to give me straight answers. Move it or they'll make us before we're ready." Then he paced to the back of the room and dug something out of his back pocket before leaning on the wall. Opening the worn leather wallet, he gave himself a second to stare at Michelle's beautiful face on the photo and another second to caress it with his thumb like he used to do when she was still alive. Then, with a long sigh, he returned the wallet to the jeans pocket.

**FBI HQ**

"Yes, that's his last address, from all I know," Jack confirmed, tapping on the corresponding place in Tony's file. "His wife was killed there. Bill Buchanan-"

"The CTU Director at the time?"

"Yes. Buchanan had Tony taken to CTU's clinic in order to protect him, should he survive the surgery."

"And he did."

"Yes, until Tony found out that one of the men responsible for his wife's death had been taken to the clinic as well and attempted to kill him for revenge."

"Why didn't he?"

"He couldn't go through with it. I'm sure that at that moment, he wanted nothing more than that. But I think that deep down, he knew it wouldn't make sense. It wouldn't bring Michelle back. Besides, I've never seen Tony kill anyone in cold blood and I still don't believe he would."

"You have a lot of faith in him. Are you sure you know him as well as you think you do?"

Jack shot a glance at her, yet she didn't look intimidated. "Jack, I know you guys were friends, but maybe he's changed more than you think. After all, aren't we all capable of evil? And he did do prison time for treason."

"That was so long ago that even the FBI should let it be now. Yes, they convicted him for treason, but all he did was save his wife's life. Tony Almeida is driven by emotion and yes, sometimes it takes the upper hand, but I refuse to believe he'd sacrifice innocent lives, even if it were for revenge."

"Agent Tobaldi," a woman monitoring strings of digits and lines on a computer screen called.

"Yes?"

"We have a problem. The CIP firewall - it's falling."

**Somewhere**

Tony had gone back to watching his men work. At that moment, the computer produced two beeps and a window opened, waiting for input.

"Are we in their system?" Tony asked Rick.

"Yes."

"Do it." Tony then turned to the man on his left. "Get me Air Traffic Control."

**FBI HQ**

Agent Tobaldi and Jack had joined the girl at the computer. "Do we know what they're after?" Jack asked.

"No, not yet. Right now, it could be anything," she replied, all the while entering numbers in the mask at the grid.

"Can you do anything from here?" Jack questioned.

At that moment, the young agent stopped typing, looked at him and replied gravely, "No."

**09:58:33**

**New York Air Route Traffic Control Center**

Will's day had begun with a burned breakfast, then a car crash on the freeway, being two hours late for work and now the system had stopped responding. The half a dozen monitors in front of him began to blink but didn't react to anything he tried. "What's going on?" he mumbled to himself. "Ben," he said to the man next to him, "I can't access the system."

"Neither can I," Ben replied, glancing over at his colleague.

"I don't get it. All our screens are locked."

At that moment, a phone rang. Ben and Will both turned to the ringing phone as if it would bring all answers. The senior controller grabbed the receiver. "Air Traffic Control, Jim Wood."

On the other end, there was a calm voice that seemed to almost whisper. "Good morning, Jim. As you've probably already noticed, me and my people have just taken over your system. We control the skies now."

"Who are you?"

"That bears no importance," Tony replied. "I'm just establishing a line of communication here."

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"It's simple. Nothing. The other infrastructures protected by the CIP firewall are still secure. But if you try to cut us off by shutting down your equipment, not only will you fail but you will spread the damage to them."

The shock was apparent on Jim Wood's face as he looked at his staff. "What do you people want?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Tony then hung up the phone.

**09:59:58 -- 09:59:59 -- 10:00:00**


End file.
